The Surrender and then Something Else
by aleson
Summary: Five years of peace, yet Toph is more miserable than ever. She’s in love with a married Sokka and in desperate need of a missing Aang. Now she’s marrying Zuko, which might just be the greatest mistake of her life, or maybe a way to find peace within.
1. prologue: TO BEAR

_**The Surrender and then Something Else**_

Prologue / **To Bear **

* * *

AND as the handmaidens scurried around the young noblewoman, rearranging her clothes here and there, sweeping back hair or correcting the position of a jeweled pin, Katara asked her one last time, "Are you sure this is what you want, Toph? You don't… you don't have to do this." There was an unsteady tremor in Katara's voice, and the expression in her clear blue eyes revealed the great unease of her mind. 

Toph made no move to show that she heard Katara's last question, but they both knew she had. Toph never missed anything. Finally, the handmaidens stopped their frantic scurrying, looking at their lady one more time before deeming that all the preparations were complete; their work was done, and Lady Toph Bei Fong turned around to face Katara. Despite Katara's own displeasure with the whole situation, a smile tugged at the corners of her lip when Toph was in her full view.

Even at five years later, Toph had not grown too much in height, but she definitely did not look a child anymore. Toph's sable black hair was wound up in an ornate fashion that was the work of a few hours, at least. The hairdressers had weaved small, shiny pearls into her hair, and adorned the sides with sparkling ruby and emerald pins. She wore pure white silk robes, and over each sleeve was draped a thick piece of cloth. One was a rich forest green, marked with the House of Bei Fong, the flying boar. The other was a deep blood red, embroidered with the Fire Nation's royal insignia. A deep pride bubbled within Katara to see Toph, Toph who she knew as an overconfident child at twelve to a… well, overconfident woman at seventeen.

"You look beautiful," Katara breathed, and Toph couldn't help returning Katara's reluctant smile. There was no lie in her words, and Toph knew that with certainty. Still, Katara sighed. "Toph… you can still change your mind, even now. I would support you, no matter what," said Katara again, trying to bring reason to her younger friend's mind.

Toph shook her head solemnly.

"Sokka doesn't understand, and to be honest, I don't really, either," Katara confessed. They had had this conversation many times in the past two weeks, but Katara had to go through it at least once more. She loved Toph, as her own sister, and she owed it to her, to make sure Toph knew exactly what she was going to be putting herself through.

"You know how beneficial this will be for Zuko," Toph pointed out with a shrug. "You and Sokka both said that Zuko should form an alliance with a high-ranking citizen from another nation if he ever wanted to get anywhere with reconstruction. You've both said it so many times."

"But that doesn't mean it has to be you!" cried out Katara, voice thick with remorse. "We didn't mean you—we never meant that. It just—it doesn't make any sense!"

"It makes most sense, and deep down, you know it does, too. I'm not just the heiress of the wealthiest family in the Earth Kingdom. I'm Toph Bei Fong, a key player to the end of the war, comrade of the Avatar. The other nations would all trust me, as Fire Lady, to check the Fire Nation, and then Zuko would be able to get some real work done," Toph said tonelessly. It was a speech she had said many times over now.

Katara pursed her lips. Then she sighed.

"I wish Aang were here," Katara said plainly.

Toph's head snapped up at that, and her brows furrowed. "Well," she said dryly. "He's not. And if he were, he'd agree with me. He'd know this is the best thing to do, too."

"He wouldn't want you to forsake your happiness for the greater good. Aang would never have wanted that," Katara objected, but the fight had left her. She wanted so badly for Toph to… it was not that Zuko was a bad man, but there were still old prejudices, and Katara was well aware that Toph's opinion for the prince could not have been that much higher than Sokka's. But Katara knew Toph well enough to know that at this point, nothing would change the young earthbender's mind. Toph was just as her element, stubborn and unyielding once she made up her mind.

"Aang would have understood," Toph said firmly.

She stared at Katara for a long time, until Katara turned away her gaze, her cheeks suffused with color, and Toph let out a breath of air.

"You need to understand, Katara. There's no happiness for me, out there—" Toph motioned the air with a wave of her hands. "I'm not… I'm not going to find the type of love you will have when you marry… or the type… Sokka has… that's not going to happen, for me." Toph looked at Katara meaningfully. "You must know why," she stressed, and Katara knew that the words were painful for Toph to say, and that this was going to be as close as she would ever get to admit how she felt about...

Toph's expression was strained, but she showed no sign of impending weakness, and Katara had to marvel at Toph's strength. "Oh… Toph," Katara said finally, her voice breaking and tears pricking her eyes. Toph would not change her mind, then; that did not change the fact that Katara still loved her as dearly as she could love anyone. "Look at you, you're a bride! You're beautiful, you're so beautiful. Regal, Toph, did you know?"

Toph smiled.

* * *

AND that was her last conversation before she walked into the Great Hall, filled with hundreds of guests. Her parents, the Bei Fongs, sat up front as honored guests, and she could sense the hum of pleasure coming from them. Fire nation or no, her match with her to-be-husband was a very good match indeed, more than her parents could have ever asked for from their poor blind daughter. Toph could feel also, another hum of pleasure, but from the other side. Iroh had been so glad when he learned of their engagement, and Toph could not help but to have felt a profound pleasure to have given him such happiness, no matter how little of it she felt herself. There was a slight breeze from the back that drifted towards her feet, and Toph deeply wished that Aang was here watching, and a part of her wondered if he had caught wind of her marriage, wherever he was. A slight pang tugged at her heart, and Toph wondered what Sokka was doing. She decided she was glad he was not there. No matter how strong she was, she wasn't sure how well she could handle having him there. But wherever he was at the moment, Toph was sure he was scowling. He had made his disapproval with the match loud and clear, and unlike Katara, who held the same disapprobation, Sokka's view was ironclad in this case. 

Toph walked towards the dais in the center, towards where her future husband was standing. She could not see him through her milky green eyes, but she pictured him in her mind's eye, and saw him standing tall and formal, with an expressionless countenance on his face that matched her own.

She stood next to Zuko and the ceremony began.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Toph is my favorite character in Avatar, and though I think Toph/Sokka is cute, and Toph/Aang would be good for both of them, for some reason, Toph/Zuko really strikes me as a pair that could have character and real fire. 


	2. part one, c1: SURRENDER

**Part One: Surrender**  
Chapter One

* * *

_Five Months Ago…_

EVERYWHERE, the name 'Toph Bei Fong' garnered attention and respect, synonymous with 'The Blind Bandit', 'the Greatest Earthbender in the World', and of course, one of the three masters of the Avatar. Whether her parents liked it or not, everyone knew who she was now, and Toph reveled in it. Even at seventeen years old, when she was nearing womanhood and—more disturbing, hearing a little too many times how beautiful and ladylike she was becoming, at least in appearance, Toph still participated heavily in matches and greatly felt the pleasure whenever a crowd roared at yet another win on her increasingly long list. She could not imagine ever getting sick of that sweet sound of glory ringing in her ears.

Which was why, precisely at this moment, knots of concentration were found in rows on Katara's forehead as she went about healing the numerous wounds scattered all around Toph's limbs.

"…and man, did you see when I pummeled that overbearing monkey man into the ground? He thought he was hot stuff, but boy did he have it coming!" Toph rambled excitedly, her eyes wide and mouth open up to a happy grin. Katara made a sound of annoyance, but Toph's spirits were too high for her to take notice, so she simply continued on exuberantly, accompanying her words with matching, eager hand motions. Then, as Toph made a mini demonstration of how she taught that loser a lesson, one excessive gesture broke swiftly through the air, instantly bringing Katara's focus to an abrupt halt.

"Toph! Will you please just sit still for a moment? Some of your cuts are really deep," Katara grumbled. She swept a hand to her brow, laden with drops of sweat. Toph quieted her movements and stopped speaking, but was not at all bothered by Katara's irritation.

"Sorry," Toph said sheepishly. She squeezed her toes together as they tingled with impatience and the desperate need to get up and move. More than anything, Toph hated being perfectly still. She liked to move—the running, skipping, jumping, feeling blood rush through her veins and muscles contracting and expanding as her heartbeat drummed in her ears faster and faster… Toph couldn't stand being confined to one place. She had spent enough time confined in her childhood to last her for the rest of her life.

"Really, Toph! You're seventeen now. You can't just be living like this forever," Katara continued on her rampage, a strange bout of fury suddenly pouring out from the usually calm and patient young woman.

"Like what?" Toph said, her own irritation quickly settling. Toph didn't mind being the subject of Katara's incessant motherly nagging here and there—that was an aspect of her friend that was so ingrained into her personality, it could never really change, but at the same time, Toph definitely did not like this attitude the waterbender was taking on. Katara knew who Toph was, just as well as Toph knew exactly who Katara was. Just as caring too much was Katara's fault in Toph's eyes, Toph was who she was, a fighter, a brawler, someone who felt at home with testing the limitations of her strength and power. Toph felt no shame in this fact, nor did she feel the need to.

"Like you're still a child! You're nearly an adult. When are you going to grow up?" Katara snapped, impervious to Toph's change in mood.

"Look here!" Toph growled, standing up promptly despite the blood still flowing freely from some of her wounds. "I'll live how I want to, when I want to! Nobody's going to tell me what to do! I get enough of that from my parents—I certainly don't need any more of that crap from you!" Toph felt a little betrayed and then a little hurt with Katara's words. She wondered, was this how Katara really saw her? Did the person Toph believe was her best friend simply see her as a childish girl who refused to grow up? Toph grew a little angry. There was nothing wrong with the way she lived her life, nothing at all! She loved her life, and she had fun, which was more than what she could say about little Miss Party-pooper. Though Toph had not said anything else aloud, her expression must have been openly fuming, because Katara had a guilty look on her face, which Toph could feel, even if she couldn't see it.

"I'm sorry, Toph," Katara said, remorse dripping in her words. "Please, sit. You're hurt."

Toph's scowl remained in place, but she sat down, anyway, and let Katara resume her work.

"It's just… I don't mean to get angry with you, specifically. I'm just stressed because Ami's cough just isn't going away no matter what I give her, and Zuko's been sending me all these letters on how hard it's been on him… he can't get anything done without me intervening on his behalf for every little thing," Katara ranted in frustration, pressing a little too hard on one of Toph's open wounds, causing her to wince. "I've been going from home in the South Pole to Zuko's palace to Ba Sing Se, back and forth, over and over again—and I haven't been able to work with some villages as much as I'd like—there's been this sickness passing around, and I keep getting these letters from people asking me to help with healing…" Katara stopped talking and let out a deep, world-weary sigh.

"Is Ami really sick?" Toph asked curiously. Every since Suki had given birth to Ami a few months ago, both Ami and Suki were having trouble with their health. From what Toph had heard, Suki had a most terrible time giving birth, and was not recovering well, while Ami was perpetually sick. Though, Toph hadn't seen Ami yet, or Sokka for that matter.

For the past few years, Toph had simply been too busy to see Sokka too much. She'd been traveling everywhere around the world, staying for a few months at a time at different villages and cities, sometimes teaching earthbending and often times, being challenged to fights she would readily accept. Sokka, on the other hand, had settled not long after the end of the war in the South Pole with Suki. The two lovebirds had quickly married and, from what Katara had told her, had been trying to conceive for a year and a half before finally succeeding.

While Toph had not seen Sokka for at least a year now, Toph had seen Katara at least five or six times in that same amount of time. After the war, unlike Sokka, who had easily returned to his old life, and unlike Toph, who had reveled in a new one, Katara had been forced to play the role of a mediator. She was serving as an ambassador from the Southern Water Tribe, and though she definitely had her vocal reservations towards Zuko and the Fire Nation, she still somehow ended up being the person who always had to back up his rather reasonable goals and ideas to the other nations. The war was over, but the deep scars of bitterness and prejudice remained, and the Earth Kingdom somehow found it necessary to oversee every single one of Zuko's movements and reject any suggestions at least once, no matter how practical or necessary they were. She had also spent her time traveling, helping rebuild some of the villages that had suffered the most extreme hardships during the war, and her healing capabilities had not gone unnoticed. People from all around the world would send Katara letters, requesting her help, and it was not in Katara's nature to ignore her ability to give that desperately-wanted help.

That Katara was traveling as often as Toph and possibly more allowed the two to run into each other quite a lot; and, almost every time they met up, Katara would end up healing the most recent injuries Toph had accumulated, and give news of the happenings in Sokka's life, as well as the official niceties going on between the nations—which Toph really had no interest in hearing, but Katara felt Toph should know, as the earthbender had been instrumental in bringing about the end of a war and the beginning of a new and tentative peacetime.

And as for Aang… Aang was gone.

"She'll be alright. She's just going to have a tough time the first few years, I think. Her body is weak, but she has Sokka's spirit and Suki's heart," Katara answered Toph's question. "It's Suki I'm more worried about."

Toph's ears perked up and she looked up in alarm. "Is Suki very sick?"

"I don't think… she had a few really bad injuries during the war," Katara admitted. She picked up a bandage and started to wind it around Toph's leg. "She'll be okay, this time, but if they have another child, I'm not sure if her body will be able to handle that amount of stress again."

"I hope she'll be okay," Toph said, a little awkwardly, trying her best to convey her sincere honesty into her words. She knew Katara must have known how she had felt about Sokka—how she did feel about him now, but no matter how she felt about him, she bore no ill feeling towards Suki and their child, and it was important to Toph that Katara knew that. Toph had discovered not long after their friendship was cemented, it was Katara's judgment that mattered to her; she would have liked it for her parents to think well of her and appreciate her, and she definitely did not really give much weight to the beliefs of the general populace, but for Katara to think ill of Toph… that would be the most painful to bear. Toph wanted more than anything for Sokka to be happy, even if it wasn't with her.

"I know," said Katara, and relief unburdened Toph's shoulders.

"Does Sokka know?" Toph asked. She tried to picture him, and it was a very grim picture, indeed. Even though it was peacetime, Sokka was in more turmoil than ever before, from what she gathered. It was somewhat hard for her to reconcile the goofy teenager she knew in her head to a somber, anxious father she had not yet met.

"I told him, and I could tell he was disappointed, but he tries not to let it show. Suki's spirit has been waning, and I didn't tell her, but I'm sure she can tell for herself. I think she's very disappointed in herself. They both wanted a large family for so long," Katara said. She finished wrapping the bandage and wiped her hands against her skirt. "—there, all done."

"Thanks a lot, Katara," said Toph, wiggling her toes and flexing her fingers. The nice thing about bumping into Katara was that her body always felt better than ever afterwards.

"Toph…" Katara bit her lip, and Toph looked at her questioningly. "Toph, will you… I think, I think Sokka would like it very much if you would come visit him. It would mean very much to him for you to see Ami. He asked about you, the last time I was there, and in letters. I think he's a little worried about you."

Toph didn't answer for a long time. Instead, she stood up and walked towards the window. A small smile surfaced on her lips when a light breeze tugged at her hair, making her momentarily think of Aang. She leaned her head against her hand and finally, she spoke.

"Katara, I don't know…" her voice was wistful, and Katara could hear the sadness hiding there. Katara wondered wryly at the irony of the way things turned out. Five years gone, and the four children who once had been so cheerful and painfully optimistic during the war had all become reduced to a state of constant stress and perpetual sorrow—and, no matter how insistently Toph would proclaim she was as happy as she could ever be, the acute melancholy that enveloped the blind girl did not escape Katara's notice. And as far as Katara knew, Aang, wherever he was, must have still been suffering, because he was too strong to die, and Katara knew that if he was not suffering, he would have returned by now. It was not fair, but Katara supposed life was inherently not fair.

"I don't like children very much," Toph said with a sudden wide grin, evading the point by masking any seriousness with a playful exterior. Katara sighed again. It was a lie, they both knew, but both also knew Katara would not push further. Katara never did, because there was nothing she could do even if she probed to her heart's content. All she could do was to wait, until another time they ran into each other, when the wounds that ran deeper than the skin healed a little more, the ones that healed only with time, and not by any arts that Katara knew.

* * *

TOPH sometimes laid out into the grass, letting her body sink down into the damp ground, digging her fingers into the dirt, until she could feel it underneath her fingernails. The feeling and smell comforted her more than anything else. She would stay perfectly still, and let complete silence take over her, instead listening for everything. She would listen for all the animals that were in the vicinity, feeling them breathe and matching her breathing in conjunction with them. Sometimes, she would listen for the past, almost hearing distant traces of Katara's soft voice singing an old water tribe lullaby, Sokka sharpening his blade really more than necessary, and Aang making balls of air whirl in his hands. Other times, she would listen in the present, for any trace of the lightest footsteps she had ever heard in her entire life, or a certain slant of wind that could come from nowhere else. 

Toph stared up, her eyes open and unblinking. All she saw was darkness, but she knew there were stars somewhere in the darkness above her. She did not miss them, felt no pang at not receiving that beauty—she got over that a long time ago, and besides, everybody else missed out on the beauty she did see everywhere else. Still, she tried to picture them as best she could, little concentrated points of brightness scattered in a clean slate of complete dark. She wondered if Aang was out there lying down like she was and staring up at the sky, counting the stars and making shapes of them, as he once did so long ago.

She hoped he was. It was the one thing she did that made her feel as close to him as possible, knowing that wherever he was, how far or close, they shared the same sky. It helped that deep ache in her heart resound with less desperate longing, that suffocating loneliness a little more distant and a little less real.

Toph would stay like that for hours, waiting. She waited for him to return, because in her heart, she knew he would, someday. She only hoped soon.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I don't usually write fanfic, but I originally started to write this because I really wanted to read Toph/Zuko, and there was so little out there that I thought I'd just write one instead. But the more I plan this, the more I realize that although this will end with Toph/Zuko, there are definitely elements of Toph/Aang and Toph/Sokka; though, this fanfic is more about Toph, really, than about romance. Also take in mind, the Toph/Aang will be heavily featured, more so than Toph/Sokka, but it is not meant to be taken in nearly so much of a romantic slant.  
Part One in general starts off five months before the prologue, and works its way up until before the wedding. Part Two takes place after the wedding. 

Thanks for all the reviews! They're very encouraging and it's a little surprising how much support this fic has garnered already. I really appreciate feedback of all kind. :)


	3. part one, c2: SURRENDER

**Part One: Surrender**  
Chapter Two

* * *

TWO weeks had gone by since Katara had left the Earth Kingdom to make the journey back home in the South Pole, to visit Sokka and bring back some different herbs for little Ami, as well as a medicine from a little village she had chanced upon while in the Fire Nation that supposedly helped women ailing from the aftereffects of giving birth. 

Before Katara had gone, Toph had lounged carelessly in Katara's bed, her legs swinging and her toes occasionally grazing the ground, while Katara ran about the room, packing her things. As Katara had folded her clothes, she told Toph, "I'm going to be in Ba Sing Se next month—" Katara paused briefly with a quick glance towards Toph before she continued, her words streaming out with a determined spark in her eyes, "—and I know you don't like it there, but I'm sure you're still going to be in the Earth Kingdom, so it won't be too much of a trip for you. Visit me, Toph, won't you? I'll be staying at the palace."

Toph had immediately went into an earnest cry of protest, saying things such as, "You were wrong about me not liking it there—I _loathe_ it!" and "Oh, but you know I'm heading east in another day and I would just have to backtrack to get to Ba Sing Se", though all to no avail. Katara would not leave until she had eked out a promise from Toph that she would meet up with her in one month's time.

As Toph twirled a lump of clay into random shapes seemingly with no purpose, Toph figured she'd have to make the journey in another ten or eleven days to catch up with Katara. She groaned a little at the thought; she had not been kidding to Katara when she had said she loathed Ba Sing Se. Words could not express how much Toph really did hate the Earth Kingdom capitol the most out of all the cities, except, maybe the Fire Nation capitol. Then again, maybe the Fire Nation city had taken a drastic turn in peacetime, though Toph doubted it, and could not confirm such a change if it had taken place since the last time she had even stepped one foot in the city was well over four years ago—when Aang had defeated Ozai.

This was not to say she completely stayed away from the Fire Nation. Toph did make it a point to travel everywhere, and this included many villages in the Fire Nation. She could even admit with genuine feeling that the lands of the Fire Nation were surprisingly rather suited to her liking and constitution, much more so, for example, than the home of her favorite pair of water tribe siblings. There were even areas of the Fire Nation that Toph had thought really just wonderful and extraordinary, but in her four years of travel, she had always avoided getting too close to the capitol. The place held too many bad memories for her; it was that last time she was there when Sokka had reunited with Suki and promptly proposed to her, and it was there that she had last saw Aang.

Those two reasons did not even cover the horrors of the final battle.

But, there was… something else, too, that made her feel sick when she thought of the Fire Nation capitol city. Toph couldn't quite pin it down, and when she thought of it, frustration would bubble up in her because she simply couldn't make it out, exactly. She had the distinct feeling… _something_ had happened there, she just… she just wasn't really sure what it was. She just felt like there was something she was forgetting… something very bad. Her fists clenched and she grinded her teeth—what was it that she couldn't remember? It drove her mad with craziness, so she simply tried not to think of it at all.

She would sometimes have letters sent to the Fire Nation Capitol, however, because it was there her old friend Iroh resided, and though their acquaintance had never been very long, she would always consider him one of her greatest friends. She looked to him as someone who gave her more useful advice than anything both her parents had to say put together. Now and then, she would go to Ba Sing Se simply because Iroh would address letters to her there, and she always looked forward to having his strange, amusing ramblings read to her. Those readings of his letters would sometimes be the most pleasant time of her life for many months, a rare time she would feel at ease and unfettered by the troubling thoughts that always seemed to linger with her. Toph hoped to visit him one day, but she couldn't imagine going back to the Fire Nation Capitol until Aang returned.

Until then, she would have to be content with letters.

* * *

TOPH had been playing a rather boring game of sticks with a few drunkards in the village tavern, when she felt the vibrations of a person hesitantly coming towards her. Whoever it was got close, and Toph laid down her sticks with a lazy throw before turning around to face the approaching subject. She put on her most impatiently bored expression over her face, and stared at approximately where she believed the person's face was. 

"Is it Toph Bei Fong—the master earthbender?" asked the man hesitantly, the fear written plainly in his voice, and if Toph had been gifted with sight, she'd have seen it written in his eyes, too. His accent was subtle and hardly noticeable, but Toph was a master when it came to the tongue and speech of others. Her ears found the man's Fire Nation accent pronounced clearly in every word he spoke.

"What is it?" Toph asked, irritation forming a frown on her face. Before he could answer, the other players in the game crowed for her to take her turn. Toph sighed and turned her attention back towards the game, and within five minutes, she defeated her opponents and picked up a few bronze pieces. She thought to herself absent-mindedly how absurd it was; not only could she beat all these men in combat with a single movement of her foot, but apparently, she could just as easily beat them in a game of wits and luck.

"La-Lady Toph…" the man nearly whimpered, and Toph stood up and walked outside of the tavern, crossed her arms, and gave the Fire Nation man a look.

"It is just… simply that… you…" the man tripped over words carelessly, unable to voice his thoughts coherently, which was only heightening Toph's irritation.

"Well, out with it!" she snapped, tapping her foot on the ground, causing a few spikes of earth to rise and crumble around her feet. It was highly unintentional on her part, and only a way to help ease the tingling anxiety in her legs, but the action served to make the man even more nervous than before.

"My wife, child, and I… we're migrating to Ba Sing Se, from…" the man's voice trailed off with uncertainty.

"The Fire Nation, yeah, got that," Toph finished for him when he was taking longer than her patience could handle. She answered his unspoken question by adding, "I have exceptional hearing, and your accent's clear Fire Nation to me."

The man took this with a nod of understanding, then said, voice still wavering but not filled with so much pathetic fear, "I've heard much talk and rumor of my countrymen, attacked by bandits on the pass to Ba Sing Se. I would never have tried to disturb a busy woman such as yourself, but my wife is very scared and… I most humbly request you to accompany on our journey. I can pay you…"

Toph nearly scoffed at that—what did she need bare scrap from peasants for? She highly doubted the man could pay her anything that was worth her while, even if she had been a mercenary type of person.

The man continued desperately, "…I've heard you carried out such tasks when you traveled with the Avatar…"

Toph was not Katara, and she did not spend every waking moment since the end of the war helping people. She did not like helping people, and most seemed to leave her alone, understanding that Toph Bei Fong was not cut of the same cloth as Katara. Still, Toph might have heeded the man's request, even though she had never heard of such ridiculousness of bandits attacking Fire Nation immigrants.

The man's ultimate failing, however, was to mention Aang. She never liked to hear anyone speak of Aang, not unless it was of her own volition. For some reason, it just made her unreasonably angry that the man had brought him up.

"You have nothing to fear. I am very familiar with the Earth Kingdom, and I have never heard any talk of Fire Nation immigrants being attacked. Unless you would like to stay here, encased in a nice earthen hut, I believe our discussion is over," Toph said with cold diplomacy.

There was something about it; Toph was blind, she was not exceptionally tall, and though not many had the guts to say it, she was very feminine in her ways of appearance, with her delicate features and cream-colored skin that revealed her noble breeding, and the shapely curves underneath a dirt-covered tunic. Her whole body was toned with hard muscle, but she was still very small and slender. Yet, it seemed somehow, despite all appearances, there was something about Toph that was very foreboding to those who had a thing or two in the brain.

When Toph spoke that certain way, her words clipped and spilling with an almost aristocratic authority, the Fire Nation man knew well that she was a young woman, only seventeen, but not anyone to be trifled with. He turned away and left disheartened, but Toph did not take notice, her mind unpleasantly kept with thoughts of Aang.

* * *

"HELP! Help, please! Somebody, help!" were the cries that woke Toph from her uneasy slumber. She got up from the bed and quickly dressed, leaving her long hair unbound as she stepped outside to see what the commotion was about. Toph would not be able to return to sleep with a man running and yelling around outside; her ears were much too sensitive for such things. 

Toph felt the light vibrations of other people about, also wandering out of their homes. It seemed, however, Toph simply brought attention to herself as the villager had stopped running in front of her. "A man—and his wife, and child, attacked not too far up the pass!" gasped the man in between breaths.

Her heart constricted instantly, and Toph's fingers and toes felt numb.

"The child is still alive—a girl, she needs attention immediately!" the man said frantically, waving his arms towards the direction of the mountain paths that eventually led to Ba Sing Se. In one instant, he was talking to Toph, and in the next, Toph was gone. A massive trail of upturned earth followed her as she sped her way towards the path using her earthbending, listening carefully for any faint trace of a human child heartbeat, and feeling for any vibrations coming from the pass that might have possibly been made from a little girl.

And then—there! She heard it, a dim beat she had to strain her ears to hear, but it was there… tiny, and so very slow. Toph sped faster, not caring that she was leaving a great mess behind her. There was no time to lose—she recognized the way of the heartbeat too well, and this one was only growing slower and fainter with each passing second. She had heard this happen so many times during the war… the dying heartbeat…

Within the next minute, Toph reached the place where the heartbeat was coming from, and her mouth dropped in horror. Her hands clenched into fists, and she felt unbidden tears leaving her eyes. This was not the work of any, plain bandits. The crimes committed here were cruel, cold and calculated for the sole sake of injuring others. And there was such a disparity of strength—there was never a way the man could have defended his family against… at least, from Toph's estimation… it had been either one strong earthbender or at least four weaker earthbenders in a surprise attack against one man, his wife, and little girl who could not have been more than ten years old.

Toph kicked her foot to the side, removing the hundreds of rocks that were crushing the family. The mother and father were dead, probably killed instantly, but they had been careless with the girl. Toph sat down next to the child, gently pulling her into her lap, and moving her hair out of her face.

The girl was dying, and Toph knew she could do nothing to save her. Moving her would only hasten her death and make it more painful for her, so instead, Toph did the only thing she could do.

"You are so brave…" Toph said softly, caressing the girl's cheeks with her thumb. Toph tried her best to sound reassuring—the way she'd heard Katara speak many times before. And to her surprise, Toph found it a lot easier than she'd thought it would be; when a broken girl was in her arms and Toph could feel the spirit leaving her, it was surprisingly easy to turn her words to honey, almost in an effort to reassure her own self, as well. She held the girl's hand, and the girl weakly squeezed Toph's palms. "You are so, so brave... what is your name, little one?"

"Yuzu," said the girl so faintly, if it had not been Toph, it would not have been audible.

"Such a pretty name, Yuzu," Toph said. "Yuzu, you are so brave. I wish I were like you… I knew a girl who was brave like you, too, once, a long time ago."

"What… happened… to her?" asked Yuzu.

"She became very lonely. The person she trusted most in the world left her," said Toph, unable to keep Aang away from her mind. Her heart ached.

"Why?" the girl questioned again.

"I'm… I'm not so sure, myself," admitted Toph. It was a question she had asked herself for the last four years, since that day she had woken up in a room in the Fire Nation royal palace and found Katara and Sokka by her side sick with worry, but no Aang. She had asked for Aang then, and that was when they had told her. Aang was gone.

"I hope… she finds her spirit again," murmured Yuzu, her eyes fluttered a few times as she tried to keep them open. She seemed to decide she liked them better closed, because she let her eyelids fall and continued in a faint whisper, "…and her special person returns to her…"

"I do, too. Always," Toph said, and her eyes felt wet.

Yuzu was silent. Toph could not feel her heart beating any longer. Toph gently brushed her fingers against Yuzu's mouth; her lips were turned up into a gentle smile. She was not sure how long she stayed like that, but it had been for some time, before the villagers had caught up with her.

"Lady Toph…?" one of the village men questioned.

"They should be given a proper funeral, in the way of the Fire Nation," Toph said to them in a clear command. She moved Yuzu down to the ground and stood.

Suddenly it hit her: a huge storm of feeling, and Toph had to get away from the bumbling vibrations of the villagers. She quickly ran away, leaving no trail following her, as she kept running and running and running, until she found herself exhausted and in the middle of nowhere, feeling the vibrations of nothing but animals around her.

* * *

FURY coursed through her veins, and Toph could not remember a time when she had been more potently angry, and yet so helpless and incapable of anything to do. Toph screamed. She screamed as loud as she could, the sound of her voice vibrating through the air and accompanied with the rumble of earth upturning in waves within the radius of a few hundred feet around her form. She screamed until her voice was hoarse and dry, and it hurt physically for her to yell any more, but the anger would not diminish and she could not stop. When the sound coming from her throat lost strength, growing weaker, the sounds of her earthbending rose into a mighty, harsh roar. The small waves that had been running underneath the ground broke, turning up earth in massive torrents. The villagers in the villages nearest by hid underneath the tables, in the belief there was a great earthquake, and not simply the anguish of a most powerful earthbender. 

Finally, she fell to her feet, and the furious roars quieted to a dull rumble, until there was nothing at all but the sounds of a weeping girl. Upturned earth surrounded her at all sides. Tears streamed down her cheeks and Toph sobbed bitterly. Her throat stung and her mouth was dry. She dug her fingers into the ground, wanting to bury herself deep into the earth, deeper than anything before… It struck her, this strange familiar feeling.

She wished… she wished she was dead.

"Aang…" Toph cried. "Aang… I _need_ you. Please!"

Toph had never been religious. She prayed to no god, but now she prayed, fervently. She prayed that Aang could hear her, feel her—she prayed that he could rescue her from this abyss, because there had been a time once, a long time ago, when Toph had been stuck and burdened with a future that held no hope for her. There had been a time when Toph needed somebody more than anything else, and then there he was—Aang, a savior unexpected. He had held his hand out to her, reaching for her, with that precious smile of his—the first time anyone had ever done such a thing for her.

She had never needed anyone more than she had needed Aang, and she felt that need distinctly now. It had been so long since she'd last seen him, but she still held her firm belief in him, that if she needed him enough, he would come.

Toph collapsed to the ground, feeling suddenly drained of all strength. She had never felt so tired before in her life, and her heavy eyelids fell down.

She realized dimly, as she slipped into dream, it was not fury that she had felt. It was shame.

* * *

WHEN Toph came to, her eyes snapping open and her body quickly jumping up to her feet, the first thing she thought of was Katara. She had to find Katara. Katara always knew what to do, and she had frequent contact with both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. They had to know of this atrocity, and it could go on no longer. 

Toph was going to Ba Sing Se.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I'm going to be honest. These first few chapters are more about Toph, and the person she has become, her mixed feelings towards Aang and apathy towards most everything else. And as for Aang being gone, it is no huge mystery. He's not dead, he simply has run away from everything. I just wanted to show a world where they won, but that didn't mean everything was fine and peachy, where instead, there were plenty of reprisals from the effects of the war. In many ways here, the two in the gang most affected are Aang and Toph. 

I actually have not yet watched the third season of Avatar (I know, shame on me!). I simply have had no time and don't get Nickelodeon in my apartment (this kills me a little inside), so I will not really be incorporating season 3 of Avatar into this fic.

On a side note: I hope Toph is ass-kicking this season. I always like to pretend and wish that instead of ATLA, it was Toph, the Greatest Earthbender. She just rocks so much. I think that all the cool people in the world like Toph the best.


	4. part one, c3: SURRENDER

**Part One: Surrender**  
Chapter Three

* * *

NEVER did time seem to pass so slowly as those first four days Toph spent in Ba Sing Se, waiting for Katara. Toph hardly remembered the journey from the little village she had been staying at to the huge Earth Kingdom city; it was all a distant blur and she was sure she had never traveled so fast before in her life. 

Upon her arrival to Ba Sing Se, Toph looked a great mess. The shiny, long black hair so prized by her mother had been locked up in a massive tangled bun, and her tunic was more of a brown than a lovely shade of green, clouds of dust forming out from her clothing when she walked. Silent, disbelieving stares followed her as she took slow, tired steps to the royal palace, and though she did make a grand, hectic sight, she was immediately recognized and ushered in through the great doors.

As a friend of the Avatar, one of the five young heroes of the war, and as heiress to the house of Bei Fong, Toph always had a welcome room in the royal palace. She was welcomed with the most sickening, false overbearing gestures that anyone could ever receive, whether she came in full dress, head to toe in finery that bespoke her prestige, or as now—with smudges of dirt in lieu or make-up and in all appearances more likely homeless than even a simple serving girl. Still, they all knew just exactly who she was, and greeted her as a friend, turning a blind eye to her current state of dress.

Toph was too tired to keep track of the numerous lies, and headed straight to her room, ignoring the sycophantic courtiers, all pandering for her affection in case she chose to marry anytime soon. Though, no matter how irritating the constant barrage from nameless people at the palace became, Toph was no more inclined to stay at her parents' house in the impenetrable city; the moment she stepped inside the Bei Fong mansion, her parents would be informed and come up to Ba Sing Se as fast as possible. Toph loved her parents, but seeing them once a year during New Year's in Gaoling was rather enough for her tender family-loving heart.

Toph immediately collapsed onto her bed, not bothering with the fact that she was spreading dirt and whatever else all over the fine blankets. She closed her eyes for one moment before there came a knock and a voice calling out, "Lady Bei Fong." The slightest of smiles quirked at Toph's lips as she recognized the voice; it was her attendant, Lei. When the stately, mild-mannered woman was not too preoccupied with something else, it was usually Lei who was assigned to Toph when she came to Ba Sing Se, and it was often Lei who read Toph's letters aloud to her.

"Come in," Toph invited, not bothering to get up.

The door opened, and Lei entered, holding a tray containing a multitude of dishes. The scented smoke of meat tickled Toph's nose, and she couldn't help but think that Sokka would be jealous. She could also smell hot baked yams glazed with honey, a particular favorite of Toph's, as Lei was well aware. Toph smiled a little at Lei's thoughtfulness, and though she appreciated the gesture, she had no appetite whatsoever, even though it had been a good time since her last full meal.

"I'm not hungry," Toph said, shaking her head. She waved her hand towards the pretty, little round table in her room. "You may eat it, yourself, if you please."

"You should eat, Lady Toph," Lei insisted, setting the dishes of food onto the table. "You must be tired from your long journeys, and I have already called the servants to draw up a bath for you afterwards. Yes, I believe a nice, long hot bath will do you much good before turning in for bed tonight."

Toph's smile grew. This was what she liked about Lei, though she'd never say so; Lei never let Toph get away with whatever she wanted. More than that, Lei seemed to put it upon herself to get in Toph's way, sometimes almost in an intrusive way, all for what she deemed best for the blind girl, and because of genuine fondness, not charity or sympathy for her 'condition'. Unlike all the other members of the staff in the Earth Kingdom, and pretty much everywhere else, Lei also did not seem to be intimidated by Toph in the least after knowledge of the formidable power she held in her small, wired body. Toph loved her strength and loved other people to know she had that strength, but she later learned that just as irritating it was to be coddled and protected for being blind, being tiptoed around and feared for being a master earthbender was better, but not by that much.

"My body _is_ sore," Toph reluctantly offered. The last two days, she had earthbended a tremendous deal, from the moment she searched for the girl, called Aang out for a good hour or so, and then made way to Ba Sing Se in astounding time. Now that Lei mentioned a bath, her aching muscles throbbed with longing and her exhaustion seemed to be multiplied tenfold.

"First, Lady Toph, first you should eat," Lei firmly repeated. "You look thinner than last I saw you. You have not been eating well."

"Alright, but just a little!" Toph relented, standing up from the bed and seating herself down in front of the table. She brought up her spoon and went straight for the yams, ignoring Lei's cries to first finish the jasmine rice and roasted turkey duck.

"By the way, have I any letters from the old man?" Toph asked between mouthfuls of food. It really had been a good time since her last meal—Toph had not felt at all any desire to eat, but her body had certainly been deprived as she was cleaning out the dishes in record time.

"General Iroh, Lady Toph," Lei corrected with a little 'tsk'. "And, actually, one letter came in from him two months ago. Shall I read it to you aloud?"

"That would be nice, thank you Lei."

Lei took out a scroll from her robes, and broke the red seal. As Toph heard Iroh's words read to her, how his days were pleasanter than ever, how Zuko was proving to do a fine job as the Fire Lord, how the turtle duck he'd adopted gave birth to a new brood of babies, and how he would have loved to see the strange eastern Earth Kingdom village Toph had mentioned visiting in her last letter, Toph wished she could see her old friend again. She almost forgot everything else for a moment, and the hazy peace carried over through her hot bath and up until she fell asleep.

She went to bed that night in ease, but it was not long after closing her eyes before Toph's mind was plagued with dreams. She dreamt of walls made of metal, raised high and raising higher by the second on all sides of her, closing in until she was sure there was no more sky to be beheld. She was alone and she could feel nothing but the cool touch of steel and hear nothing but the sound of her own breathing and heartbeat drumming frantically in her ears…

She tossed and turned, whimpering unintelligibly, and when she finally awoke, she only felt an unpleasant dread. Toph could never remember the dreams very clearly; they were veiled underneath a thick cloud of fog and detached, disjointed confusion. During the day, she would spend all day in her room waiting for news of Katara and trying her best to remember and make meaning of her dreams, but she could make no sense of them at all.

The following night was not much different, nor the next. The dreams never failed to come. They were, as always, hard to understand and even harder to hold onto, but most of all, the left behind a deep impression of fear.

* * *

"LADY Toph!" a servant girl cried, pounding furiously on the door. "I've come straightaway—like you told me. Miss Katara has just been spotted entering the gates—oh!" Toph had opened the door, taking the young girl by surprise. Toph raised her hand in the air, holding out a piece of silver for the girl to take. "Thank you, ma'am!" the girl bowed her head and took the silver piece. 

"Have Katara brought here immediately. Tell her Toph is waiting, and that it is important," Toph commanded. The servant girl nodded her head in assent and fled the room in a hurry, not heeding to the open door behind her. Toph set it closed with shaky hands. She leaned forward, collapsing nearly the whole of her body against the smooth, sightless wood. Toph stayed like that, still for a few moments, and it fell upon her then; she felt suddenly very, very old, and yet at the same time, she felt younger than ever, and without an idea of what to do.

Toph walked over to her bed and sat, fingering the embroidery of the blankets mindlessly. As she waited, she couldn't decide whether she was anticipating or dreading Katara finally walking through the door.

* * *

KATARA was tired. Her stomach churned uncomfortably, aching for food, and her hand felt heavy when she waved to people as she walked by, the muscles in her mouth strained when she smiled. When she walked past a spa, she paused for a moment, watching enviously all the girls walking in and coming out. Katara pressed her hair back unconsciously. Her hair was limp and deep circles were impressed underneath her blue eyes that had been bright once, a long time ago. These days, when Katara took a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she was wholly unsatisfied. Though she had never been a vain creature, it did strike her pride just a little bit, even as she did not look much different and no one else could say she was not beautiful, but Katara just felt so _tired_, and when she saw her reflection, she could just see the exhaustion written plain as day. 

She felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she just wished she could just throw it off in a heap somewhere and forget about it for a moment. Katara wanted to go to the spa and spend one day entirely to herself, wasting the day away frivolously and having her biggest concern be whether she should style her hair in this way or that.

A crying baby broke her train of thoughts and Katara turned away from the spa regretfully, continuing her trek to the royal palace. She squinted her eyes and her steps slowed. Someone—a young girl?—was running towards her. Katara kept walking, and soon enough, the running girl halted in her steps right in front of Katara.

"Miss Katara… It's Lady Bei Fong. She is waiting for you in her room, and says she must see you—it's very important!" said the servant girl in a hurried breathless gasp. Katara's brow furrowed, and a spike of alarm shot through her. "Please, come this way," ushered the girl, and Katara followed.

"How long has Toph been in Ba Sing Se?" Katara asked.

"Oh, a good two days at least, probably three or four, actually," replied the girl, and Katara frowned in response.

As the girl led Katara to Toph's room, Katara's mind would not stop turning in worry and confusion—Toph, _here_, so soon? Katara had not expected Toph to rendezvous back at Ba Sing Se for at least another few days, as Katara had arrived earlier than their planned date, and even then, she had added in time with the expectation that Toph would arrive late.

"Here," said the girl, pointing to a closed door. Katara nodded her thanks, and rummaged through her sack for a coin, but the girl shook her head and waved her hand away. "Thank you, miss, but that was taken care of." The girl bowed her head and quickly scurried away.

Katara opened the door, and Toph sat up from her bed, facing Katara.

"Katara…" The word was a bare whisper, and Katara had to strain her ears to hear it.

"Toph…? Toph, what is it? Tell me, what is the matter?" Katara's words came out slowly, with careful caution but infused with worry. Something was very wrong. Katara had not seen Toph this distressed in a very long time—sad, yes, depressive and melancholy, often. But the signals Toph gave off now seemed to go beyond any depression or her regular sadness, no. Katara bit her lips into a frown; this was a deeper anguish.

"I'm…" Toph choked on her words, and she wiped the tears away from her eyes before they got the chance to fall. Toph could not do it. She could not tell Katara that because of her, three innocent Fire Nation citizens, simply looking for a better way of life. They died because of her. How could she?

"Oh, Katara!" Toph gasped, and Katara ran to her side. Katara lifted a tentative hand to Toph's shoulder, fingers barely grazing the fine silk of her outer robe. Toph did not push her away, but she felt more than anything that Katara should not touch her. It was odd. The last few days, Toph could think of nothing but Katara. Toph wanted so badly for Katara to be there, but now that she was in her presence, Toph wanted nothing more but to be as far away from her as possible.

"I… I don't understand why Aang…" Toph turned away, hiding her face from Katara. There were tears falling freely, and Katara felt a distinct pain in her heart. It was becoming too much for her, this…

"What's the matter, Toph?" Katara carefully probed.

"I did something terrible," Toph mumbled through muffled sounds of crying.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked gently. She put a comforting hand on Toph's back, coaxing her to speak more. It was not often that Toph confided in her; in fact, Katara was sure that it was not often Toph confided in anyone. The young girl kept everything so close to herself, wrapping layers of protection around her, it worried Katara sometimes, when she had worry to spare.

"Something… it's too terrible…" Toph said, shaking her head.

"You could never be bad. You are only good, Toph," Katara said firmly.

This only seemed to despair Toph even more.

"No, I'm not!" Toph shouted, pushing Katara's hand away, taking her by surprise. Immediately, Toph apologized, and Katara placed her hand back on Toph's back. "You don't understand, Katara. You really don't… I'm not good, not at all."

"Toph," Katara said, and before she could speak anymore on the virtues of her friend, Toph interrupted her.

"I… they asked me, Fire Nation immigrants, to escort them to Ba Sing Se, and I refused," Toph said slowly, with restrained feeling. "They're dead now."

Katara said nothing, and she was very quiet—Toph could not discern a drastic change in heartbeat, and the waterbender did not make any movements. Toph could tell nothing of what Katara was thinking of in reaction to Toph's admission.

"Earthbenders, probably a good group of them, they've been killing Fire Nation immigrants. Zuko and the Earth Kingdom must be told, Katara. This can't go on…" Toph's words broke.

"It's not your fault, Toph, that those people died," Katara finally spoke.

"Yes, it is! If I had just not been so selfish and stupid! There was fear in that man's voice, Katara, and I just mocked him for being afraid! And there was a child, too, a little girl, named Yuzu—she died, too!"

"You could not have known," Katara said adamantly.

"Look at me," Toph sneered. "I disgust myself. What would Aang say, if he saw me now?"

"He'd have no right to say anything!" Katara snapped suddenly. "Aang would have the least right, of anyone!"

"Katara…?" Toph said slowly, momentarily forgetting about her own plight, and instead completely confused and taken aback by Katara's outburst against… _Aang_. "Are you… angry with Aang?"

Katara didn't answer for a moment, and Toph continued. "I thought, I mean, I'm sure of all people, you understand. It's hard, that he's not here, when he _should_ be, but Aang—you _know_ he has…" Toph paused, searching for the words to explain all the reasons she thought Aang left.

"I know, Toph. I'm not really angry with Aang. I'm just on edge and a little irritated with everything right now," Katara said, and it was a lie, sort of, and whether Toph could tell or not, she did not question further.

"Katara, there will be more attacked like them," Toph said, a little desperation in her voice. "You must let Zuko know what is going on, you _must_."

"You can let him know yourself, Toph. I'm going to the Fire Nation capitol next week. Come with me," said Katara. She knew Toph had not been to the Fire Nation capitol since the last battle, and she knew Toph dreaded going there, but for once, Katara did not care; enough time had passed since the last time, and Katara feared more what could happen if Toph was left alone.

"The Fire Nation capitol?" Toph reiterated uneasily. She wringed her fingers into the blankets. "Katara, I don't know…"

"It will be better, if you are there to explain the situation yourself," Katara said, determined to have Toph come with her. Toph did not respond, instead, staring listlessly down towards her hands. "Toph,_ please_, come with me. I have never asked you for any help since the end of the war, so just this once, please Toph."

Toph blanched. Katara was right; she knew how much Katara had been doing, but she had never asked Toph for anything, when she easily could have.

"Alright," Toph finally relented, despite the strange clenching around her heart at the thought of going back to that city. "I have been wanting to visit Iroh for a while, now."

"Thank you," Katara said, a relieved smile flowing to her face, and for the first time in a long time, it was a smile not strained or hard to come by.

* * *

THE next two days passed by in a busy blur. Katara was often away for large parts of the day, either in a conference with the Earth Kingdom's council, or helping at the hospital, and Toph began to make preparations for her trip. On the eve of the second day, the two old friends ate dinner and despite the absence of two important members, it felt almost reminiscent of the past. Neither of the two girls brought up any painful subject, instead talking about silliness and nothing important, when in the middle of Katara telling a funny, little anecdote she had heard on her last trip to Omashu, a courier interrupted with urgent news. 

Toph dropped the fork in her hand, and it clattered to the floor, forgotten.

"A flying bison…" she whispered, a slight tremor running through her hands.

"Are you sure?" Katara questioned doubtfully. "Was it a flying bison that was seen?"

Toph stood up abruptly. The long black hair she let down for the evening was quickly swept up into a messy bun by her eager little hands. She called out to the serving girl, "Get my things ready as fast as possible."

"Toph, you don't mean to leave, on such a dubious account…" Katara said, truly astonished.

"I've worked with less," Toph said brusquely.

Katara made no movement for a few seconds, seemingly absorbing the meaning of Toph's words. She had always suspected that Toph had been searching for Aang, but she had never been sure because Toph never offered any information about her travels, where she went or why she went where she did, and Katara never asked her. Katara's mouth turned down into a grimance, that Toph may have been doing nothing but look for Aang made her suddenly very angry.

"You can't just pack up and leave every time you hear of the tiniest possibility that Aang might be there," Katara said with controlled measure, her voice barely concealing the tempestuous feelings brewing underneath.

"Would you expect me to do nothing at all?" Toph easily returned, slipping out of her nicer robes into her usual traveling wear.

"You won't find him, Toph!" Katara shot out.

"Aang is out there, and he's going to return," Toph said sharply.

Katara let out a deep sigh. "I don't doubt that... I know Aang will return one day, but you won't find him if he doesn't want to be found."

Toph ignored Katara, taking her satchel from the serving girl

"What do you think you will find in Aang?" Katara asked.

"What are you talking of?" Toph turned around to face Katara. She was ready to leave, in a minute transformed from a court lady to just another insignificant traveler.

"What will happen, if you find him?"

"Aang will make things right, Katara. He always does," Toph said quietly, her milky eyes wide and a smile tingling her lips. "Don't you want me to find him, Katara?" Toph asked, her features turned with confusion, and her voice light with bewilderment. When Katara remained silent to her query, the frown on Toph's face grew, as did the confusion. "Katara?" she echoed with uncertainty.

"Toph, please. Don't go," Katara plead one last time.

Toph turned and gave one last look at Katara, determination firmly carved in her face, and Katara knew nothing she could say would change Toph's mind. Katara felt the need to weep. The cloud of grief that had become Toph's signature had been cleared by the light of false hope. Katara's chest felt tight; her heart, she felt, could not take much more of this—this disappointment and broken remains that piled up at her feet whichever way she turned.

"I can't stop, Katara. I will _not_," Toph declared firmly, her voice strong and filled with an optimism that now sounded foreign to Katara's ears. Katara hated it. She hated the reason behind Toph's hope; she hated Toph's faith.

With one great roar of earth rising and turning over, before being bended back into place, Toph was gone, and Katara stood at the door, the expression on her face the saddest sight in the world.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Poor Toph and poor Katara. I really appreciate all the feedback I've been getting, and was a little pleased (and surprised) at all the "poor Toph". Ah, Toph, Toph, Toph. How I love her, and how I love to torture her! I'm also glad that people are pleased with the way I'm writing her. I wasn't sure completely, but I have a certain image of Toph in my mind, one way she could be in a particular future, and it's not completely the same Toph in ATLA, but that's more because she's much older and many new things have happened to her. Also glad that people were okay with her inaction. 

Also, I finally got caught up with the season this break. Glad to see Toph and Zuko meet, but still have no intention of incorporating season 3 into this fic.

clockwork starlight: I think Toph totally deserves her own show, and I would really just die of elation if such a thing ever came true. I just… words cannot explain how much I love her. I really don't write that much fanfic, but she inspires me to write fanfic because there isn't enough Toph-centered fanfic.

oranfly: I won't say if Aang or Sokka make an appearance, but I can assure you that Toph and Zuko will get along quite well in the long run. I don't think that really spoils anything since I do admit this was written originally for shippy purposes.


End file.
